A FLOCK OF IBEX. 215 



We took the usual plan of one waiting for 

 the chance of the drive, whilst the other two 

 tried the stalk. It was Campbell's turn to 

 wait, so we made a de'tour, and stalking the 

 flock carefully, got within tolerable distance. 

 But one impertinent young male, was much 

 in the way — he was standing on the top of a 

 rock, on the look-out. There were some 

 magnificent fellows close to him, but we could 

 not raise our heads high enough to shoot, 

 without the smaller one seeing us, so telling 

 Wilson to look out for a chance, I fired, and 

 knocked the youngster off his perch. Up 

 they all jumped and went off at a gallop, 

 Wilson missed, and I had no opportunity of 

 firing my second barrel ; but the rush of the 

 ibex was a magnificent sight, old and young 

 of all sizes, there could not have been fewer 

 than two hundred in this flock. They went 

 off, and we did not see them again as a single 

 flock. The natives say, that when the ibex 

 are fairly frightened, " they will go seven days 

 and seven nights without stopping," not bad 

 travelling even in these locomotive days ! 



